"And when I asked Aleta where Dr. Dressler's wife and son were, she just gave me this blank look as if she'd never heard that he had a wife. Then Big Beefy Guy came into the kitchen and told me to stop bothering the staff with questions that were none of my business. He suggested I go out in the garden or otherwise amuse myself."
Domitian shook his head, not sure what to say, or even what to make of this information. He'd never really given Senora Dressler much thought. Ensuring his life mate was safe and finding out the location of the island as well as what Dr. Dressler was up to had been his only concerns when he'd agreed to go.
"As we were walking here I started to wonder if Mrs. Dressler, Thorne, and my grandmother didn't live in the small house," she added thoughtfully.
"The small house?" Domitian asked at once. "What small house? You never mentioned a small house."
"It never came up," Sarita said with a shrug.
"It is up now. Explain," he requested firmly.
She seemed amused by his stiff voice, but said, "When we flew in on the helicopter I got to see the whole island. The fenced-in area with the labs was on the tip of the island as we approached, there was a bit of jungle and then the big house came next with an open area around it. After that there was a large expanse of jungle, but at the very tip of the far end of the island there was a smaller house on the beach with a pool beside it."
"A small house with a pool?" Domitian asked, straightening from where he'd relaxed back against the base of a palm tree. His voice sharp, he added, "Like the house we just left?"
"Yeah. I considered that myself as we were walking," Sarita admitted, sounding unconcerned. "But then I thought about not encountering Mrs. Dressler or her son at the big house and decided they-and my grandmother-probably live in the little house instead. I mean, who would want to live with Dressler? The man's a monster.
"Of course," she added with a frown. "Now that I know about the apartment, I suppose that could be where they are. The big house could be like a cottage. Where they usually stay on the weekends and in the summer when Dressler isn't teaching. That could explain the hotel air to the place." Following that through, Sarita continued slowly, "But if they normally stay in the big house and just aren't there now because they returned to the mainland to stay close to Grandmother, then the little house isn't where they live . . . which means it could be the little house that we woke up in after being drugged."
Domitian couldn't have been more stunned if she'd pulled a hammer out from under the towel she was wearing and suddenly hit him with it. For a minute his thoughts were in such chaos, he couldn't even hold on to one.
He'd rushed them out of the house to get her as far away as possible to somewhere she'd be safe from Dressler, and instead might be walking her straight into his arms.
Cursing under his breath, he leapt to his feet.
"Where are you going?" Sarita asked with alarm, getting up as well.
"It is okay. I just want to go a little farther along the beach and see if you are right and we are still on the island," he said reassuringly.
"But what if you're seen?" she asked with concern.
"I will be careful. But I have to see if you are right, mi Corazon. If we are on Dressler's island then we have to find a way off it, and quickly. And walking up to the house and asking for a ride is not the way to go about it. Just sit and rest for a bit. I will be back before you know it," he said and then turned and hurried away before she could argue further.
Sarita watched until Domitian followed the curving beach out of sight, and then turned to glance out toward the water. She'd been keeping an eye out for anyone approaching in a boat as they walked, and even if they were on the island with the house and labs as she suspected, she still had to because water was the only way to approach the house.
From the helicopter, Sarita had thought she'd spotted a road disappearing into the jungle in the direction of the little house, but if that's where they were, apparently it didn't go all the way to it. They'd double-checked before setting out and hadn't found even so much as a dirt path to walk on.
Movement out of the corner of her eye drew Sarita's head quickly around, but she relaxed when she spotted Domitian jogging toward her. Her first reaction was relief, until she noted the vexed expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" she asked as he stopped and simply gathered the ends of first one towel and then the other.
Domitian didn't really answer her question. He merely slung both Santa sacks over his shoulder as he straightened. Turning back the way he'd come, he then said, "Come with me," and started walking at a quick clip.